NCJ Number
103059
Date Published
1986
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This policy statement of the Beverage Retailers Against Driving Drunk, together with associated study data, argues against proposed legislation that would reduce driver legal intoxication limits from 0.10 percent blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 or 0.05 percent (about two drinks for the average person in a 2-hour period).
Abstract
The 0.10 percent BAC is the standard for intoxication recommended by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration based on their indepth studies and analysis of the drunk driving problem. Both government and independent studies over the past 20 years indicate that 70 to 75 percent of those convicted of drunk driving had at least 0.15 percent BAC, with many having BAC levels of 0.20 percent or higher. Many studies show that in more than half of alcohol-related traffic fatalities, the drunk drivers are killed, and 20 percent are passengers in the drunk driver's car. Half of the fatally injured drivers have BAC levels at or above 0.20 percent. These data indicate that those persons inflicting the most harm drunk far in excess of the current BAC legal limit. Lowering the legal BAC would have little impact on these persons beyond what the current BAC level provides. The proposed lowering of the BAC would be an expensive measure to target drivers who account for under 10 percent of those involved in fatal accidents. What is needed are public education programs that make drunk driving unacceptable and a targeting of deterrence and rehabilitation efforts toward those causing most of the harm. 8 references.